Warriors Heart
by Ranger-of-the-shadows
Summary: Transported to a magical land, Grace and Liah race against the clock. Powerful forces charge to stop them. Should they fail, the world as we know it would cease to exist. Will they save a legend or will they themselves be lost.
1. The adventure begins pt. 1

In a faraway land, mentioned only in legend, a king lived with his children. He had divided the land equally, giving his children parts of the land, letting them rule it together. Two children felt bitter and left the kingdoms. The other children and the king were saddened by their choice but allowed them to do so. Wars and contentions filled the land.

Grace hugged her books to her chest, her shoulders slouched. Her gaze was directed to the ground. Don't make eye contact with anyone, she thought. She had moved to the new high school a few weeks before. She had come with her father, his work had moved him. It's not like she really left any friends behind, except one. Riley, her one true friend. The one she could count on for anything. I mean yeah, they video chatted weekly and called each other almost every night. However, it still was not the same. She walked out of the school, the smell of fresh rain filled her nostrils. She saw her father's truck idling. He was waiting for her; she liked that.

As soon as she got home her father had to leave for another shift of work. She sighed, she was used to this, however. She'd had a rather lonely childhood. Not a bad childhood mind you, just a little more lonely than most. Her mother had died when she was twelve, so it had just been her and her father for five years. Her father had dated on and off for a few years, but nothing had ever gotten too serious. She liked it being just her and her father, it was peaceful.

After finishing her homework, she changed into a long T-shirt and leggings and went for a run to warm up her body, listening to music as she ran. This had always been a coping mechanism for her. She had had another hard day at school. However, she was still determined to make friends despite her discouragements. There had to be someone at this school who wanted to be her friend. She just hadn't found them yet. She hoped she would soon through. She ran harder, pushing herself beyond her limits. She ran into her room, beginning to run in place, then jog, then walked. After her run, she began to stretch then do pull-ups, push-ups, and situps. After each, she kept pushing herself farther than she had in previous times. After her workout, she started to make dinner. Her dad would be home around six, it was five-thirty right now so she had plenty of time. It took her until her father got home to finish dinner.

"Did you make any friends at school today, little half-pint?"

"No, not yet, but someone here wants to be my friend," Grace said, more to convince herself, then her father. "I hope," she muttered to the side.

Her father smiled, "You will, half-pint, you will."

Grace lay awake that night thinking, wishing that tomorrow someone wanted to be her friend. A sinister thought crept into her mind that no one would want to be friends with her. Grace locked the thought away, deep inside her. Someone did, she thought. She closed her eyes; dreaming of a place she had heard of in her childhood, the Forgotten Kingdom that was only heard about in legends.

Early in the morning, the land was peaceful. A soft mist settled gently over the lush earth, enveloping all the plants and trees. The fresh smell of rain still lingered in the air, and the animals hid from the cool air, sleeping in their dens or nests. Grace wandered, barefoot, through the forest, the mist swirling around her legs, chilling her bare skin. She looked around and saw two youths walking with her, speaking excitedly about something. Grace felt disoriented. Her head spun—where was she? Who were these people?

"What do you think Grace?" they asked her, as though she had been apart of the whole conversation—which she hadn't. She didn't know what they were asking her about.

Grace woke up, sighing. It felt so real. The companionship of friends, something she longed for. She quickly got ready, dressing into her black ripped jeans and a black tank top with a ripped army jacket. She went down the stairs, ready for breakfast, but not ready for yet another dreadful day at school.

Soon she was out the door, in the car, and seated, looking quietly out the window, imagining herself in a depressing movie, looking out with a sad face, all along with sad guitar music playing in the background. Eventually, her dad stopped the car in front of her school.

"Love ya!" he said cheerfully, but Grace didn't respond. She only deflected the happy emotion. "Hey," her father continued, "have a fantastic day. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure," was her only response. Her father, unbidden, kissed her on the cheek. Grace only smiled a little, then began on her way to the school's doors. She slouched as she approached the doors, then thanked the random kid who held it open. The kid had a habit of it for some reason, she didn't know why. She passed through the second pair of doors, braced herself, then entered into the chaos of the school.

Other teenagers like herself chatted, laughing along the hallway's walls, lined up and in groups. Most groups, however, stood right in the middle of the walkway, prohibiting her passage.

"Excuse me," she said, pardoning herself as she tried to make her way around them and toward her locker. Discouragement filled her, she kept her eyes on the ground. She grabbed her math book, it's weight giving itself to her arms. She walked to the math classroom and set her stuff down, making herself comfortable in the hard chair. She sat there, alone, waiting for the bell to ring. She pulled out her Rubik's Cube and began to play with it, mixing it up and solving it. Some time passed before the bell finally rang. The usual dread began to fill her as everyone else began to walk in, the teacher making his way to the front. She sighed, putting the cube away, pulling out her pencil and paper.

The lecture soon began, and later the assignment was assigned. She filled it out as fast as she could before the bell rang yet again, and when it did, she solemnly stood and left the class with her back-pack slung over her shoulder, her math book in the other arm.

She made her way down the hallway, avoiding all contact with people. She wished that people would notice her mood, but they never did. They probably were simply repelled by her fancy word and never asked her anything. She didn't think this, however, she only thought that they were just selfish of their friendships or were desperate for the friendships that they were barely hanging onto. She didn't care anymore. It had become her usual daily routine. Go to school, walk to class, no socializing, learning, and on and on. Meh. she silently thought.

The bell rang, and soon she was seated in her assigned seat. She pulled out her notes and began to listen to yet another lecture. As she learned, she found that she had a very interesting interest in the topic of Vikings. They were pretty epic, she thought. But then they all died. Just like everyone else.

By this time through the second semester, the thought of depression had overcome her. There was no way to avoid the depressing thoughts that she associated with anything and everything. She didn't care, and even the school's supposed ''Hope Squad '' didn't care. Did they even notice? Why should she care? No one wanted to be her friend, so what? She was used to be a lone wolf. Every time a childish hope rose that someone wanted to be her friend it was brutally shattered by bullies. Keep up that happy face. Let no one know anything is wrong. She thought. You're fine. You are a warrior so act like it. Warriors don't cry.

Time went on and on, and soon her hand was aching from all the note-taking. The teacher asked the class a question, but this time she didn't raise her hand—even though she knew the answer. She didn't want anymore embarrassment. She only welcomed it when she was very cold, as the embarrassment warmed her up. It was a simple scheme that she had discovered for herself. It worked, most of the time, though usually she didn't get the chance to be embarrassed when she needed it most. She kept her head down, but alas it was not enough.

The bell soon came to the rescue, and she, along with all the other bodies, made her way to the hallway. The same boys from the day before walked past her.

"Hey ugly," one said, pushing her down. She fell to the ground with a small shout.

"Oh," one of the boys said mockingly, eyebrows flying upwards. "Did the little new girl fall down?" he said, pityingly. "Well, I hope it hurts. Ha!"

The boys around her began to taunt her. She curled up into a ball. Trying to keep their voices out but to no avail. At least they didn't hurt her. The image of their dancing feet and laughing faces haunted her eyes.

It all went on for a bit, but soon to her relief the principal happened to be walking down the hallway and broke them all up, scolding them. He helped her up, kindly, asking if she was okay.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied. He smiled lightly, then left her, walking towards another group of troublemakers. She sighed audibly, then walked to her next class. Her body began to ache in longing to be active. She was tired of sitting all day, every day.

Sitting down, she yet again pulled out her notebook. She soon realized what class it was and, laughing to herself, put her notebook back in her bag, replacing it with her art book. She smiled as she flipped through the pages, finding a blank one. This was her favorite class. Art. It allowed herself to let go of all, or most, of her depression when she couldn't go running. She loved the way her pencil would glide across the pages, all seemingly insignificant lines of graphite that connected into a masterpiece.

The lecture coincided with her drawing, the movements of her hand guided by the teacher's words, and soon she learned yet another skill in her art. Time flew as she drew, and her mind was lost to oblivion. Multiple times, however, she was called on by the teacher to pay attention, but whatever. She didn't care. She just wanted the day to be over. She had no friends. Without realizing it she drew the two youths from her dream last night. 'Who were they? Why did they seem so familiar?' As soon as the bell rang, she stood up and ran out of the school. Her phone chimed. It was her father.

I'm sorry, Grace. I had to put in my extra hours, and I needed to work late. Walk home, be safe

That's ok. I will. You be safe too, papa. 3.

She walked home, alone.


	2. The adventure begins pt. 2

Once she got home she didn't feel like doing any homework so she just curled up on the couch.

She was sick of having no friends. And it wasn't because she didn't try, she did. Did no one want to be her friend? She sighed. Her phone dinged again.

Hey, make any friends today?

No, I just got bullied again. I am honestly starting to think no one wants to be my friend.

I want to. Am I a nobody?

No, you know what I meant, Riley. You are a state and a half away.

:). Yeah, I know. Just trying to make you smile.

It worked. 3

Grace flopped on her bed, sketching. Her sketches always calmed her down. She drew another picture of the two youths that she had seen in her dream. This time they were laughing around a fire. She gasped. She had looked at it. She didn't know them, but something inside her knew differently. They seemed so familiar. Tears fell down her face. At the view of her...friends? She curled up and cried. Why couldn't she have friends? Was she really that hateable? She brushed at her cheeks, scolding herself for crying. She laid back on her bed and fell asleep.

Later when she woke up, her father still wasn't home. She assumed he just had more hours to put in. later near 10 p.m. he still was not back. Her phone rang, it was her father.

"Hey, dad."

"This is Mr. Sumption." It was her neighbor.

"What's wrong?"

After a silent pause, he continued, his voice solemn. "Sweetie," he sighed, "there was an accident. Your father didn't make it."

The air rushed out of Grace's lungs. Her knees felt weak as she gasped for breath. The edges of her vision blurred. She felt cold and clammy.

"W-what?" she finally managed to gasp out. Mr. Sumtion didn't repeat it, he knew she had heard him. The shock began to slip away, as the tears started. She was alone. She was truly alone.

Grace lay on her bed, completely numb. She closed her eyes, falling asleep and hoping never to wake up. There was no longer any reason for her to keep going. Why would she? Her father was gone, her mum was gone, and she had no friends and no money. How would she take care of herself? How would she get to school? How would she pay off the house bills? The internet? Electricity? She sighed heavily. She wanted nothing more than to stop existing.

An idea came to mind, a simple thought. Perhaps this was how life was, perhaps it was just a test. A very excruciating and painful test, but a test nonetheless. She wanted to lose herself in her art, but her pencil shook. She tried to read a book, but her eyes were blurry. She pulled out her phone, shuddered, then told Riley the news. After she had sent it, she didn't reply for a bit. She assumed that she was contemplating what to do.

Do you have family anywhere?

No…

Well, you can come and live with us… she suggested. Hope brightened within Grace, but how could they manage the cost?

I would like that… she typed, slowly, then sent it.

It's a deal. I'll fly over and pick you up at the airport in two days, okay?

okay. I'm scared Riley.

I know, you'll be ok. There is a way, don't worry

She sighed in relief. Perhaps there was hope after all. She laid back on her bed, but couldn't stand it. She stood up to go for a run, perhaps that could help her. It would at least make her tired; she welcomed that thought.

She grabbed her running shoes and a light jacket, forgetting a flashlight. She stood outside the doorway stretching her calves, breathing deeply. She set off and jogged down the sidewalk, turning at the intersection. The cool breeze of nighttime air lifted her hair upwards and swung it into her face. She brushed it aside and kept running. The night sky was quite above her, the stars twinkling softly. The moon was just coming up over the mountain, and the world was soon lit by its light. It will be a full moon tonight.

She ran and ran until she collapsed on a lawn sobbing, no longer able to push her emotions down. It was too cold for the light jacket she had chosen. Her thin frame shook. She curled up against the cold. There was no wish to return home, there were too many memories. She just lay there and cried. She glanced up at the house of the lawn she was laying on. She laid her head back on her arms. She didn't care. Her mind started to go blank; she began to drift off into oblivion. Her eyes closed; sleep overtook her still trembling frame.

Liah poured over her math homework, biting her pencil inside her mouth. What was the square root of forty-nine again? She couldn't recall. She went over the numbers in her head, then found the answer. She wrote it down and continued with the problem. Her brow furrowed as she came to a particular hard slope problem. She sighed; her mind was dead.

"Liah honey? It's time for dinner!"

"Coming mom!" she yelled down the stairs. She tried once more at the problem, gave up, and ran to the dining room. The smell of potato chowder filled the room—it was her favorite dinner. She smiled, sat, and waited for it to be served.

It was just herself, her dad, and her mom now; they were almost empty-nesters. Her older siblings had moved out, went to college, or had gotten married. She missed them, but she knew they were happy. She was happy with her parents here at home, and there was no one to tease her anymore. She was happy and sad at that fact, but it was okay. They did visit sometimes, and she got to play with her nieces.

Soon, she and her parents were seated at the table. They prayed, then began eating. A simple conversation crossed over the table; questions were asked about each other's day, about what they would do the next day, the schedule, so on and so forth.

As her parents began talking about a subject that didn't really matter to her, Liah began looking around at random things, thoughts crossing her mind about random things. Time passed, and soon she finished her dinner, smacking her lips a little. She stood and took her plate to the sink, rinsing it off. She heard light footsteps outside, and she slid a blind up from the kitchen window to see. A runner was running by but to her surprise, the person rolled onto her front yard, curling up. The person, who she now realized was a young girl, didn't move, but the soft rise and fall of her chest were prominent.

Liah finished rinsing, told her parents about what she had seen, and then ran to the front door, grabbing a jacket. She ran down the doorsteps and onto the lawn, sliding down to the girl. She looked her over and saw that she was that one girl from school.

She ran inside. "Dad! She doesn't seem to be hurt but she is freezing!"

Without further delay, he ran outside, and lifting her up, he brought her inside, wrapping her in a blanket.

"What can you tell me about this girl?"

"Umm," she began, thinking, "she's from school, she's shy, doesn't talk much, yeah I don't really know her."

"Well we will have to wait till she wakes up." her dad said. The girl on the couch whimpered, twisting in the blanket. Color was beginning to come back to her cheeks. She still shivered.

"I'll go get some hot chocolate for her," Liah said, standing to go to the kitchen. Dad nodded, and she went. The girl's eyes fluttered open a little, then widened as she realized where she was.

"It's okay," dad soothed. Liah then came in with a mug of hot chocolate and handed it to him. "Here, drink this, it'll make you warm." She did so, slowly, and she thanked him. He stood to tell his wife what had been happening, and she came quickly to help once she had heard. Liah and her mom soon sat near the girl.

The girl immediately apologized. "I am sorry I didn't mean to pass out on your lawn. It just sorta happened I just—" she spoke quickly.

"No, it's ok. What is your name?"

"Grace _"

"Can we phone your parents?"

The young woman burst into tears and tried to run from the room, but was too weak. She just sat there crying, the others looking at her, confused. She fought through the tears, and eventually, she could mutter.

"My—" she paused, "my—" again, "my parents…" she paused again, "I have none." the truth was startling, but it was reality. The others nodded solemnly then began hugging her, comforting her. At that moment, that was all that was needed to get her crying again, and to comfort her. She felt a kind of hope. There were people that cared.

She cried herself to sleep. Liah and her mother laid her in a spare room, and she slept till morning.

"What're we gonna do?" Liah asked her mom as she worked on that morning's breakfast. They were going to have pancakes—she thought it could help cheer up Grace.

"I honestly don't know," her mom responded, "I've done some research and it looks like she doesn't have any living relatives."

Liah looked down at the pancake batter and began mixing again. "I guess we'll just have to ask her? I don't know," she said, "just, maybe she already has a plan or something…"

Her mom replied, "Good thinking, I—"

"Hello?" said Grace as she came down the stairs.

"Grace!" mom said comfortingly as she walked to where she was, "did you sleep well?" Grace nodded, and mom smiled. "Come, Liah is making pancakes, would you like that?"

"Yes, thank you," Grace said quietly, her voice raw from sleep. Grace hugged herself. Looking at the ground. Throughout breakfast, liah kept trying to get to know Grace. She responded quietly. Her eyes flitted around all during the meal, never staying in one place for long, never making eye contact. Mom led her to the dining table, and she sat down in a chair. She leaned her face onto her hands, propped up on the table.

Liah, sensing the girl's distress, went over and stroked her back a little. Grace flinched at first, then relaxed.

"Hey," Liah said softly, "you okay?"

"Not really," Grace responded slowly.

"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked, then bit her lip. She didn't respond for a little while.

"I… well long story short, I have a friend in where does Riley live and she's going to give me a flight there and I'm going to live there uh...tomorrow? I don't remember."

"Are you sure that'll work out?"

"Yes, pretty sure," she said, smiling tightly. She sure hoped.

Liah was kinda sad that the chance of perhaps being with this girl longer was no more. She liked her so far and wanted to know her better. Grace folded into herself more.

"E-Exuse me please." Grace pulled away, tears in her eyes. She ran up the stairs. She could help herself but cry, though she knew not why she did so. There was so much confusion all around her, so much yick. She laid on her given bed and cried, unknowing why she did so.

Time passed and eventually, Liah, her mom, and dad had finished eating. Liah went up the stairs to check on Grace, to ask her if she was hungry. Grace nodded, her eyes red, and told her that she'd be down in a little while. Grace was curled up on the bed. Her dark hair splayed out like a comet. She wiped at her cheeks and stood up trembling. She fell to her knees, not having the strength to stand. Liah helped her back to the bed.

"I'll go get you some food," she said, then went to the kitchen. She soon returned with a plate of steaming pancakes, a fork, syrup, butter, and a glass of milk. Grace smiled as she handed it to her, then began eating hungrily yet slowly, making sure to not upset her stomach. After she finished, her phone started buzzing. It was Riley.

"Hello?"

"Gracie, they closed the airport. I can't get you a ticket. The snow here is really bad."

"O-ok, I-I'll be fine." Grace stuttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, um, the neighbors are letting me stay at their place."

"Ah, that's nice of them, well, I'll call you later! Bye." The call ended, and she put the phone down. Her shoulders slouched a little.

"You can stay here as long as you'd like," Liah offered.

"Thanks, I think I will." Both smiled, but Grace never reached her eyes.

Liah, sensing the girl needed some alone time, said, "I will be downstairs if you need me." Grace nodded, continuing eating, and Liah went down.

"Is she eating?" her mom asked.

"Yep — she just needs some alone time, that's all," she responded, then headed outside to swing. It was the weekend, and Liah wanted to enjoy herself. The sun licked her cheeks as she walked out the door and her hair wisps flew into her mouth. She spat them out, walked to the swing, hopped on, and began swinging. Soon she got higher and higher, and the wind flew past her faster and faster. She smiled with joy as she swung, but it didn't last for long because her mother just then came and reminded her of her homework. She sighed. She walked inside and began the dreaded homework, grinding her teeth as she did so. Eventually, she found her groove and flew through the pages, soon finishing with a big sigh.

"Liah?" her mom yelled from downstairs, "lunch!"

"Okay, be right there," she returned back. She cleared her desk, putting her things back where they belonged.

"Check on Grace while you are up there?" her mom quickly said after a moment.

Liah opened the door quietly, Grace was asleep on the bed. Liah noticed that Grace's pillow was wet; she had been crying again. Liah sighed and went downstairs. That poor girl, she thought as she counted the steps.

Once she got down her mum asked, "is Grace coming?"

"She's sleeping and she's been crying again."

Liah's mother sighed. "She has been through quite an ordeal."

"Yeah," Liah replied as she went to the kitchen. The good smell of amazing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches filling her nose. She smiled; she loved peanut butter and jelly.

"Is Grace going to be ok?" she asked as she sat down with a sandwich.

"I don't know Liah, she's been through a lot. After losing her father I'm sure she feels like she has no one."

Liah nodded with her mouth full, no longer having anything to say. The only thing she could really do now was just to pray for her and comfort her. She remembered all the times she had seen the girl at school and felt inspired to talk to her but never did. She wondered if she had any friends. at all. These thoughts, however, were lost as she focused on eating.

Suddenly, they heard a scream from upstairs. Liah bolted to Grace's room. Grace was sitting up panting.

"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, trying to sound as calm as she could.

She took a while to respond, but then she said, "Just— just a bad dream…"

"Oh," was Liah's response. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she began asking but was cut off mid-sentence when she saw that Grace was staring into the distance, her eyes glazed over. "Grace?" she asked, getting worried, "Grace?" still nothing. With a great suddenness, grace grabbed Liah's wrist, holding on strong, making her flinch big time. She held back a scream, then saw the world turn to darkness. She couldn't see anything, but she felt her body begin to tingle. It ran up her spine, and she cringed, bending backward in the darkness.

A sudden calm rushed over her, and the darkness began to wash away. She still felt Grace clinging onto her wrist, but not as tight as before. Around her, green began to show warmly. Green grassy hills and green trees surrounded them, and the two were just above the ground. She wanted

to feel the grass with her feet, but couldn't. It was like she was standing on a glass sheet that sat right on top of the grass—though she couldn't see it. It was completely invisible. Grace looked at Liah, she at her, both their eyes wide open. The sun glinted warmly off of Grace's rich brown hair and warmed Liah's black hair. Liah saw that Grace was wearing a very different outfit than before, it consisted of a brown corset with a loose white shirt, tan pants, and simple boots.

Liah then saw that she wore this same outfit, tho her pants were a rich brown and her boots came up higher.

"You—" she began, "you look different."

"You too," Grace said, "where are we?" she asked. Her voice trembling.

"I-I don't know. What do we do?"

Grace shrugged. "Wander until we find someone?"

"That sounds like a plan. Let's go," she said, beginning to walk towards where she felt would be a town or something. After about an hour of walking leaf-strewn paths, they arrived at a simple village. Entering said village they began to look around, looking for anyone that could lead them to where they felt they should be. They didn't know where this was, however, but they felt that it was somewhere important. To their relief, they saw two young men walking towards them. However, what they didn't see was two others walking up to them behind them. The two in front seamed kind and were likely about to strike a conversation, but their eyes grew wide as they saw the men behind the two girls.

Without thinking, Liah somehow turned around very fast and ran at the two men, tackling them and bringing them to the ground, pinning them on top of each other. She then swang herself over and began choking them, putting them to sleep. Once they were, she backed away, still on the

ground, staring at what had just happened. She was amazed at the speed—it had all happened so quickly. Where had she learned all that skill? How had she known what to do? It was all a mystery. Grace looked at her, eyes wide, mouth gaping.

"Liah?" Grace said, as though she was now alien to her.

Liah backed away in shock. She bumped into someone and turning sharply, she saw a boy with straighter hair. She backed away slightly, turning sideways, preparing herself a little though looking calm and harmless.

"Who are you?" she asked sternly.

"Hey, I am Adam," the boy said, holding up his hands slightly, raising his eyebrows, "no need to do what you did to them," he gestured to the heap of men on the ground.

"And why should I trust you when I have just suddenly come to this place unknowing anyone besides Grace," she thumbed back, "and suddenly finding out that I have ninja skills?"

"What are ninja skills?" he asked, tasting the word in his tongue.

"I don't have time to explain. You, however, do have time to explain who you are and where I and my friend are."

"Uh," he began, "you are in the land of Iroas, most spesificly Terra Libra"

Grace looked around curiously hugging herself.


End file.
